Written by Jonathan Knight

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WALK-A-THON: The Indians continue to lead the American League in walks with 114. Their on-base percentage is .341, 3rd-best in the AL, which is pretty remarkable considering their overall batting average of .243 puts them 9th in the league.

WE ARE ALL KIPNISES: Against Chicago, Jason Kipnis went 6 for 11 with 2 walks, a double, a triple, a home run, 2 runs scored, and 5 RBI.

ALL-TIME TOTALS: The Indians’ improved their all-time record against the Angels to 289-312 and against the White Sox to 995-1,038.

EIGHT MONTHS LATER: Thursday’s victory was the first for Justin Masterson since Sept. 18 of last year. Interestingly, he hasn’t won a game in Cleveland since beating the Yankees on July 6.

TRIPLE THREAT: Now with three triples, Jason Kipnis is tied for the AL lead with Tampa Bay’s Matthew Joyce. 

JUMPING THE SHARK: Since being traded to the Indians, Ubaldo Jimenez is 6-6 with a 5.07 ERA. Since his 15-1, 2.20 ERA start in 2010, he’s 16-22 with a 4.45 ERA.

APRIL FLOWERS: This is the first time the Indians have posted back-to-back winning records in the month of April since 2006-2007 (13-12 and 14-8).

RAGE UNDER CONTROL: Since his meltdown on opening day, Chris Perez has pitched 10 innings, allowing 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 5 hits while striking out 8. In the process, he’s lowered his season ERA from 40.50 to 3.38.

THE MAGIC IS BACK: Friday night’s dramatic victory on Asdrubal Cabrera’s ninth-inning RBI single marked the Tribe’s first walk-off win of the year. It was the Indians’ fourth come-from-behind triumph (their fifth followed Wednesday in Chicago) and third in their last at-bat. Last year the Indians posted 12 walk-off wins, 23 in their last-at bat, and 35 come-from-behind victories.

ALMOST PERFECT: The Indians’ bullpen was simply incredible against the Angels, allowing no runs, no hits, and just one walk while striking out eight in five innings of work. Overall, Los Angeles hit just .130 for the series.

THE MAFIA STRIKES BACK: After giving up four runs in the ninth inning against the Royals on April 25, the Tribe bullpen pitched 18.1 consecutive scoreless innings. 

THE GOOD NEWS: After Derek Lowe’s first five starts with the Red Sox in his 21-win 2002 season, he had nearly identical numbers to this year: 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA. For what it’s worth, his fifth start that year was a no-hitter. 

THE BAD NEWS: After five starts with the Braves last year, Derek Lowe had an ERA of 3.25. He finished the season with an ERA of 5.05 after losing 14 of his last 20 decisions.

GOOSE-EGG: Derek Lowe’s masterpiece on Sunday marked the Tribe’s first shutout since blanking the Yankees 1-0 on June 13 of last season. They tallied four shutouts in 2011.

MORE GOOD PITCHING: Los Angeles managed only two extra-base hits (both home runs) in last weekend’s three-game series.

TOUGH GOING: Tuesday’s loss was the fifth time in their previous six games in which the Indians had been held to three runs or less. So far this season they’ve been held to three runs or less in 9 of their 23 games. Their record in these contests is 2-7.

ENDING THE DROUGHT: When Shelley Duncan blasted a homer in the seventh inning on Tuesday night, it snapped the Indians’ string of 11 consecutive games without a round-tripper. Their last was hit by Carlos Santana in the fifth inning in Seattle on April 17. They went 110.1 innings and 389 at-bats without parking one over the fence.

QUALITY STARTERS: With Jeanmar Gomez’s strong performance on Saturday, each Indians starting pitcher now has at least one quality start. 

LACK OF POWER: For the year, the Indians have only hit 21 home runs, which puts them 13th in the American League.

UNLUCKY LAUNDRY: Friday night’s win over the Angels was the first time this season the Tribe won wearing the white script “Indians” uniforms after losing their first four games in those jerseys. Over the weekend the Tribe dropped to 1-3 in their creamy white home alternative/red cap combination before winning their second game on Sunday.

A YEAR AGO: After 23 games in 2011, the Indians stood at 15-8, best record in the American League and first place in the AL Central, 3.5 games ahead of the Tigers and Royals.

 

PROGRESS REPORT:

The Indians are averaging 4.57 runs per game and allowing 4.61.

Batting average: .243 (9th in AL)

Slugging percentage: .382 (10th in AL)

On-base percentage: .341 (3rd in AL)

Walks: 114 (1st in AL)

Strikeouts: 157 (13th in AL)

With runners in scoring position: .255 (52 for 204)

 

Team ERA: 4.10 (8th in AL)

Walks allowed: 88 (11th in AL)

Strikeouts: 146 (13th in AL)

Opponents with runners in scoring position: .275 (61 for 222)

Errors: 12 (11th in AL)

 

STARTING PITCHERS:

9-8, 4.11 ERA

(133.2 IP, 61 ER)

 

RELIEF PITCHERS:

4-2, 9 saves, 1 blown save, 4.09 ERA

(81.1 IP, 37 ER)

 

INDIANS’ OVERALL RECORD IN GAMES STARTED BY:

Lowe 4-1 (4 quality starts)

Gomez 2-1 (1 quality start)

Masterson 3-3 (3 quality starts)

Tomlin 2-2 (2 quality starts)

Jimenez 2-3 (2 quality starts)

 

INDIANS’ RECORD BY UNIFORM:

White Script “Indians”: 1-4

Blue Script “Indians”: 6-2

Gray Block “Cleveland”: 4-1

Creamy white home alternate: 2-3

 

INDIANS’ RECORD BY CAP:

Chief Wahoo Cap: 7-6

Block C Blue Cap: 4-1

Block C Red Cap: 2-3

 

LOS ANGELES SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

The Indians outscored the Angels, 8-4. Each team committed two errors. Three of the Indians’ runs were unearned.

 

Overall Hitting

Los Angeles 12 for 92 (.130), 10 walks (.216 on-base percentage)

Cleveland 28 for 97 (.289), 8 walks (.343 on-base percentage)

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Los Angeles 2 for 13 (.154), 17 left on base

Cleveland 6 for 26 (.231), 23 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Los Angeles 2 (2 HR)

Cleveland 5 (0 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Los Angeles 25.1 IP, 28 H, 8 BB, 19 SO, 5 ER, 1.78 ERA

Cleveland 27 IP, 12 H, 10 BB, 21 SO, 4 ER, 1.33 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Los Angeles 1-1; 21 IP, 18 H, 8 BB, 18 SO, 1 ER, 0.43 ERA

Cleveland 1-1; 22 IP, 12 H, 9 BB, 13 SO, 4 ER, 1.64 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Los Angeles 0-1, 1 save, 1 blown save; 4.1 IP, 10 H, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4 ER, 8.32 ERA 

Cleveland 1-0; 5 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA

 

CHICAGO SERIES BY THE NUMBERS:

The teams each scored 15 runs. The White Sox committed four errors and the Indians committed two. Three of Chicago’s runs were unearned, as was one of Cleveland’s.

 

Overall Hitting

Cleveland 23 for 102 (.225), 13 walks (.313 on-base percentage)

Chicago 25 for 100 (.250), 15 walks (.348 on-base percentage)

 

With Runners in Scoring Position

Cleveland 7 for 21 (.333), 20 left on base

Chicago 6 for 25 (.240), 23 left on base

 

Extra-Base Hits

Cleveland 11 (5 HR)

Chicago 6 (4 HR)

 

Overall Pitching

Cleveland 26 IP, 25 H, 15 BB, 16 SO, 12 ER, 4.15 ERA

Chicago 27 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 13 SO, 14 ER, 4.00 ERA

 

Starting Pitchers

Cleveland 1-1; 17 IP, 21 H, 11 BB, 11 SO, 10 ER, 5.29 ERA

Chicago 1-1; 19 IP, 16 H, 8 BB, 10 SO, 10 ER, 4.74 ERA

 

Relief Pitchers

Cleveland 1-0, 2 saves; 9 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 7 SO, 2 ER, 2.00 ERA 

Chicago 0-1; 8 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 3 SO, 4 ER, 4.50 ERA

 

UP NEXT: 

Texas Rangers [17-8]

(Friday 7:05 p.m.; Saturday 7:05 p.m., Sunday, 1:05 p.m.)

Last year: Rangers won season series, 9-1

 

Chicago White Sox [12-13]

(Monday 7:05 p.m.; Tuesday 7:05 p.m.; Wednesday 7:05 p.m.)

Last year: White Sox won season series, 11-7

This year: White Sox lead season series, 3-2

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